Linda’s life and death were defined by her courage, determination, and selfless love for her family and friends.
The second of seven children of James and Lois Ethridge, Linda was born in Detroit but grew up in Evansville, where she was valedictorian of Central High School’s class of 1967. A National Merit Scholar, she earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Indiana University and a master’s degree in accountancy, with an emphasis on federal taxation, from the IUPUI Kelley School of Business. She met her husband of 44 years, Stephen Curry, while taking a summer class at what was then Indiana State University-Evansville.
Before moving to Indianapolis with her husband and four young sons, Linda spent more than a decade on the copy desk of the Evansville Courier, where she brought the same sharp pencil and attention to detail that she would later bring to her long career with the Internal Revenue Service. When she wasn’t handling copy, she was handling snakes as a docent at Mesker Park Zoo.
She retired from the IRS as a senior tax specialist in 2005 after 22 years of service. After retirement, she became an enrolled agent, a federally-authorized tax practitioner empowered to represent taxpayers before the IRS. She led professional education seminars for tax practitioners, taught tax research courses at IUPUI in Indianapolis, and wrote and edited a number of tax publications, including serving as a major contributor and co-editor of the Land Grant University Tax Education Foundation national tax workbook. As a colleague noted, Linda spent her career making tax law understandable for both IRS employees and taxpayers. The seminars she led for tax practitioners and taxpayers took her to Germany, Austria, and Russia, as well as throughout the United States.
She faced the cancer that was first diagnosed in 2010 and recurred in 2014 with the same courage and determination that she brought to everything in life. She continued to travel and made trips to the Grand Canyon and Cape Cod with her sister Carol Gette. Until recently, she frequently drove to Evansville to see her mother and to Alabama to attend her 8-year-old grandson’s plays and other activities. She also continued to help care for her 5-year-old granddaughter in Indianapolis. In October of last year, while again undergoing treatment for cancer, she wanted to create special memories for her children and grandchildren. So they all went to Disney World. She loved Facebook because it allowed her to connect with extended family and friends and was always delighted when a long lost cousin found her page.
Linda is survived by her husband, Stephen Curry of Indianapolis; sons, Brian (Kim) of Madison, AL, Neil (Sarah Herpst) of Greenwood, IN, and Patrick and Andrew (Kathy Cole), both of Indianapolis; her mother, Lois Ethridge of Evansville; sisters, Sandra Hoy (Phil) of Evansville and Carol Gette (Christopher) of Westport, CT; brothers, James (Lani), John (Connie), Mark (Jennifer), and Timothy Ethridge (Shari), all of Evansville; a grandson, Nick Curry of Madison, AL; granddaughters, Kelsey Curry and Kara Cole, both of Indianapolis; her mother-in-law, Virginia Curry, and Virginia’s sister, Billie Jo Graham, both of Evansville; eight nieces, four nephews, one great-niece and three great-nephews; as well as a host of cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her father in 1981 and her 5-month-old daughter, Susan Elizabeth Curry, in 1988.
Linda’s wish was to be cremated and her ashes scattered near her baby daughter’s grave in Evansville. Family and friends are invited to celebrate her life at a memorial service at 2 p.m. Friday, July 22, at Alexander Funeral Home-North, 4200 Stringtown Road in Evansville. Her brother-in-law and former pastor, Rev. Philip Hoy, will officiate. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. Friends, if they wish, may contribute to the American Cancer Society in Linda’s memory.
Condolences may be made online at www.AlexanderNorthChapel.com.
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